The invention relates to a record player having a pick-up arm which is pivotable about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis, which arm can be moved from a rest position towards a record disk by a horizontal pivotal movement and can be lowered onto the record or lifted by vertical movement of an arm support which in turn is moved by means of a cam, the arm being lifted and returned to its rest position by energy stored in a spring which is tensioned when said arm is lowered onto the disk. Such a record player is known from German Patent application No. 1,572,418.
In this known record player the user actuates a control bar which tensions the return spring and which supports a plate carrying the arm-lowering/lifting cam and a pair of rods controlling the horizontal movements of the arm. This device has the drawback that it combines two operations, namely, the lifting and returning of the arm, although the user may wish to effect these operations separately. Indeed, it is convenient if the pick-up arm can be lifted while it remains above the record, either for subsequently continuing playing or for manually changing the position of the pick-up stylus. The mechanism known from the German Patent application No. 1,572,418 only allows the user to actuate the control bar, so that the lifted arm can occupy the rest position unless there is complete disengagement of the mechanism (manual operation of the arm).